Rapid growth of Internet traffic, driven by the proliferation of video services, continues to push broadband optical access networks for higher data rates and better quality of services. A passive optical network (PON) is a system for providing network access over “the last mile.” In a downstream direction, the PON may be a point-to-multi-point (P2MP) network comprising an optical line terminal (OLT) at a central office (CO), a plurality of optical network units (ONUs) at customer premises, and an optical distribution network (ODN) connecting the OLT and the ONUs. PONs may also comprise remote nodes (RNs) located between the OLTs and the ONUs, for example, at the end of a road where multiple users reside. PON systems may also employ a Type B backup protection system that utilizes more than one OLT. One OLT may be designated as a primary OLT and the other OLTs (e.g. one or more other OLTs) may be designated as a backup OLT. The backup OLTs may be in stand-by mode until the primary OLT fails. Afterwards, one of the backup OLTs may engage and provide a seamless transition for the ONUs, and thereby avoids any disconnect in the system when the primary OLT fails.